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4/5 rDev +9.3%

Sam Adams Octoberfest.

I'll probably catch a lot of crap from the beer snobs but I expect it to be overridden by mass adulation from the people in my area (boston) for how high I rate this, and granted my views are skewed by a nostalgic feel this beer gives me, but I think this is a tremendous Americanized interpretation of the classic German Marzen for which it’s styled after. I don’t have a lot of other beers of this style to compare it to so maybe it’s the absolute bottom feeder of it’s class, but we’ll overlook my naivety and just focus on the beer itself.

One of Sam Adams more popular seasonal brews Octoberfest pours a dark ruby red that softly fades into a medium bodied copper. Poured at a finger and a half head into an Octoberfest styled dimpled beer mug (thanks Michele) my nostalgic side takes over as the summer humidity is immediately sucked from the room and the crisp apple picking morning fall air is ushered in in a zephyr of fall winds with the falling autumn leaves dropping at my feet, Glorious!

Beer has a chewy citrus to toffee flavor that finishes thick and sticks to the pallet and throat. Tastes like a 1 pm Sunday afternoon football kickoff…. Or a caramelized sugar coated and pan fried pear chased with heavy malts.
Smell is similar and quite appeakling

To me this beer *IS* fall. Popping open a can or bottle of this closes the door on BBQs and beach parties. Days at the pool and drenching humidity and ushers in football, leaf raking, frosted morning windshields and hoodie weather.

Dug this out of an icy tub at a party; it was swimming in a sea of Bud and Michelob. Saved! thought I, but... wrong was I. This had all the aromatic charm of a Coors Light, which is to say it smelled like socks, and all the taste of beer made with the finest corn and rice that money can buy, only it doesn't *have* any corn and rice in it. This is about as close to a Marzen as cold oatmeal. Given the options, I may have had better luck with the Michelob. Boo.

Pours an outstanding crystal clear dark amber with a massive, thick, slightly off-white foam head with plenty of laced stick and retention.

Metallic, grain, a bit musty.

A smooth and even malty body kicks things off for this beer. Malts are sweet, a bit chewy. Notes of raisin and a soft, weak, watery plum flavour. Grape skin. Gentle hop leaf feel in the background with some herbal hop spice -- little bitterness. More metallic, grain and some mineral flavours that fall into the finish. Burnt raisin on the edges. Slightly dry. Odd steel aftertaste in the finish.

This is a very "safe" offering from the Boston Beer Company. Very average and unexciting compared to other Oktoberfestbiers. Worth trying if it's all you can get, but worth passing on if you can find better. I also swear that the recipe is being dumbed down every year ...

I wanted to compare and contrast some of the Octoberfest brews that are starting to become available. I grabbed this one, because I love Sam Adams. This one has a mild 5.3% ABV. Let’s see what I noticed.

Look-It pours a clear and rich copper amber color that reminds me of the red/orange brown of the leaves that fall in autumn. The large head settles into a thin film quickly and leaves moist fine lacing on the glass.

Smell-It smells of toffee and caramel malts slightly. There is a bit of spiciness on the nose as well.

Taste-It has a fluid flavor with a slightly more noticeable hop component which was surprising. The hops paired well with the spices like nutmeg which I picked up on.

Mouthfeel-This medium-bodied beer has low carbonation and a slight lingering coating on the tongue with a sweetness that is appropriate.

Overall-It is a standard Octoberfest beer, but coming from Sam Adams it has a bit more grassy hops in it than the other Octoberfest beers that I have tried. It is nothing mind-blowing, but it is drinkable and goes down smooth. Enjoy!

M- Medium on the body. It is crisp clean and refreshing. Not quite as dry as American lagers.

Overall you can tell that your drinking an American interpretation of the classic fest beer from Germany. It's got standard Octoberfest flavors, but with a bit more hop presence and a fruity taste. Not bad at all, but not one I need to rush out to get this fall.

I know this is a big commercial beer and in about every store you'd find coca-cola, but after tasting a gambit of Oktoberfest Marzen brews over the last couple of weeks, not one of them hits every portion of the flavor spectrum like this one. Such a deep nutty malt flavor....as you drag it past your teeth to create a full and creamy flavor spectrum on your tongue. It is my favorite Marzen - well done guys.

Wow, I am so surprised by this offering from Sam Adams.
Appearence is a nice copper color with a thick cream colored head.
Mouthfeel is very watery.
Aroma is hard to describe because is almost non exsistent.
Taste is the most disapointing. Is mostly water with little carbonation and a God Awful metallic taste that I can't get out of my mouth.
Unfortunatly, I bought a 12 pack of this nasty beer. I am hoping I have a neighbor with no taste to pawn this one off on.

Dull amber color. Doesn't seem to sparkle like a nice lager should. Slow but steady carbonation. Foamy off-white head did not retain well.
Odd smelling. Fake malt sweetness. Notes of adjuncts (corn) and some godawful spice I can't seem to place.
Taste is equally uninspired. Onslaught of cloying psuedo-malt sweetness. Toffee coated adjuncts. This is what I'd expect Miller's Oktoberfest to taste like. Corn-filled, fake, cheap and abysmal. An ugly blast of grain alcohol seals the finish on this one.
My least favorite o-fest to date. Actually, one of the least favorite beers I have had in a while.

Drinkable and some taste from roast, sam adams to me is positioned as a transition from macro to craft beer. Bit of hop bitterness, even Sourness leading to some fruit juice in finish. Well malted and suitably carbonated. No colour, and thin mouthfeel.

Solid beer, I'm glad they go full-on old school, seems like lots of crystal malts (horrors!), none of those weird raisin-y speciality malts that breweries seem to be adding to make them stand apart, but instead are gimmicky and ruin so many malty beers. It's a straight up, full flavored, malt forward lager that seems to defy it's mere 5.3% ABV.

I hate to admit it but when I got these in the other day.....first week of August I was a little disgusted since there's still another month of summer, but I couldn't resist. It's my favorite beer, and although I would have preferred it on tap, I had to have it.

It's amazing that the bouquet of Octoberfest (sorry, years of drinking wine before recently returned to craft beer) actually has a note that is reminiscent of pumpkin. Very appropriate. Octoberfest specifically and the Boston Beer Company in general need to be appreciated for their unique craft paradigm. Octoberfest is the antithesis of a hoppy IPA, actually featuring far less hops than Sam's trademark Boston Lager. It's all about the malt. The aroma is malt-driven. The beer is thick and rich. The five malts featured here show so clearly. It's hopped just enough to provide the requisite neutrality. It's neither bitter nor cloyingly sweet, but rich. The flavors are as unique in today's marketplace as in 1989. This beer is 15 IBU, not 65 like the starkly different Sierra Nevada Torpedo IPA. Variety is the spice of life, and this autumn brew is subtle. This is a really old-school, five-malt, more traditional than the Germans (now serving Helles at Oktoberfest in Munich) hyper-quality-malt beer.

Malt slaps face like a candied whip, sounds like pumpkins breaking, the vines crackling under the wheels of a fat tired bicycle. Bronze like shit that’s really old but well taken care of because people keep coming back to what works. Tour guide on the label. Sweetness gets my teeth nervous, but maybe that’s just my pH. Putting it in a sauce of cabbage, roast chicken, ginger and garlic, with some sort of fancy white american cheese, and a piece of roll bread, a chicken and cabbage cheese steak. Heavy, for the fest goer who only wants to have one and not necessarily need to shit but still feel like shitting if it becomes an accommodating option. This one sort of battles it out, long and hard, with blunt instruments and high pitched shrieks, resulting in a drunk like a Ren Fest professional, mostly balanced but teetering under so much fermentation a rugby player might puke. I hope the dog that licks up that puke appreciates this fine brew, which even in that state surely tastes pretty good.

O: Like I said there is some odd flavor I can't quite place. Also just too sweet for my taste. For what it's worth though, I am reviewing this poured from a bottle. I had it on tap a few weeks ago and it was much better on tap.

Another Sam offering in the "give them no taste and maybe they wont realize it and will keep buying this crap" idea from Sam. Bud gave in and makes its "beer" with rice. Beer or sake?? Not sure..........but it has no taste at all.

Sam gave in and makes their beer flavorless so no one is "offended". REALLY????

I am offended that Sam calls this stuff "beer". It isnt anywhere close. It is a light beer - at best.

Drinkability  This went down quickly, which is the telltale sign of a good Oktoberfest beer. When I lived in Germany, I used to drink these warm on tap (the bartender would warm it with a heated tool dunked in the beer specifically for that purpose), and they would often go down after just three or four gulps. I wasnt trying to chug the mug, but they were just that smooth.

Comments  I drank this at room temperature, and it was very reminiscent of the Oktoberfest beers that I had in Germany. Excellent example of the style.